Axial piston pumps and motors are used to power machines or hydraulic and other fluid systems of machines. Piston-slipper assemblies are a component of axial piston pumps and motors. These assemblies take the form of at least two connected components, a piston and a slipper, one with a ball and one with a socket. Existing axial piston-slipper assemblies are crimped, swaged, or bent in order to retain the ball in the socket. Such crimping, swaging or bending can result in damage to coatings on the operable surfaces of the ball and the socket.